Conventional rotary web newspaper presses are capable of producing completed daily editions at high speeds. An eight unit, six page wide press with a conventional folder, for example, is rated at and will consistently turn out about 85,000 newspaper per hour. Such speeds can be attained when printing the daily editions because the latter generally comprise not more than four to six sections and not more than a total of about 100 pages. Consequently, the press and folder can be run "straight," i.e. two complete newspapers are produced during each cycle of operation, and since the daily papers are relatively thin and uniform in thickness, they can be processed through the folder and subsequent mail room machines at high speeds.
Problems are encountered, however, when "jumbo" editions such as the large metropolitan Sunday papers are produced. These bulky editions generally comprise ten to twelve sections with a total of about 200 pages and because of their size the press and folder must be run "collect." In other words, the press and folder are set up to produce X and Y products which must be combined in the folder to form a complete newspaper and therefore only one complete paper is produced during each cycle of operation.
When running collect the production capacity should be about one half the straight running capacity but in actual practice this has been virtually impossible to achieve. Because of problems encountered in folding and subsequent processing of the jumbo editions, it has been necessary heretofor to operate the presses at as much as one-third below the rated capacity.
The problems are caused primarily by the unevenness and instability of the bulky editions. As the various ribbons of superimposed webs are drawn over the former folders and associated in the folder the longitudinally folded edges of the respective sections are all juxtaposed along the same edge and thus are compressed and form a relatively stable edge. The opposite or open edges, however, are relatively loose and fluffed up due to entrapped air, etc., and thus tend to be substantially thicker and much less stable. The resultant non-uniformity in thickness and the difference in stability of the respective edges precludes the handling thereof at maximum speeds.
Not only do the impaling pins on the collecting and folding cylinder frequently fail to engage all of the sheets in the outer sections, but it is necessary to skew the second or cross fold rollers in order to compensate for the substantial difference in thickness between the respective edges of the products. Moreover, upon leaving the folder the uneven products tend to shift out of alignment on the delivery conveyors such that consistently accurate counts are difficult to obtain and it has been necessary heretofor to reorient or compensate alternate stacks of papers in the stackers and packer boxes in order to form relatively uniform bundles. It has been necessary, therefore, to operate the press units at substantially less than their rated capacity in order to maintain production without frequent stops.